A scholarly (or academic) resource is one that is written by experts in the field for experts in the field. A popular resource is one that is written for the general public. Your local newspaper is a popular resource.
Scholarly Journals | Popular Magazines |
---|---|
Publication has a narrow scope or is limited to a specific field or sub-field of study; goal is to promote and disseminate scholarly research |
Publication is designed for a broad, general audience; primary goal is to make a profit |
Intended for academic or specialized audiences such as professors, researchers, students |
Does not require expertise in the field to understand the information; designed for the general population |
Has tables and graphics |
Has pictures and media included |
Has references, bibliographies, notes and/or works cited included |
May have verified facts, but does not include references or bibliographies |
Has little or no advertising; included advertising promotes books, journals, conferences |
Has advertising |
Has an author and author affiliations; authors are experts in their respective field |
May or may not have an author listed; authors are generalists, journalists, or freelance writers |
Published by a scholarly press or professional organization |
Published by a for-profit entity |
Editorial board of scholars in the field who review articles prior to publication in a process known as refereed or peer-review |
Editor is a journalist who works for the publisher |
Databases usually have some mechanism to search for only scholarly, or peer reviewed, articles. Look for a check box on the search screen which will allow you to limit search results to only scholarly journals if your professor requires a scholarly article.
A literature review is both a step in the research process and a section of a research paper. Before writing the literature review, you must first review some literature. The goal is to get familiar with existing debates, schools of thought, and arguments related to a topic. Here are some tips:
Once you have identified a handful of relevant and important literature on your subject, it is time to write the literature review. The goal of the literature review is to summarize briefly summarize for your reader the literature you found and how different studies and articles relate to one another. Keep these things in mind: